Barry, Brandi, Jarrod, Darrell ... say it ain't so!

December 17, 2012 - Jim Anderson

Is “Storage Wars” faked?

“Yuuup!” says Dave Hester, who is suing A&E and the “reality” show’s production company.

Hester, the show’s best-known (if not most popular) star, has been locked out in an apparent dispute over the practice of “salting” — or the planting of valuable items in otherwise bland storage lockers.

A&E continues to deny Hester’s allegations that the show is regularly rigged, but maybe the crucial question is whether anyone cares.

I’ve long regarded the History Channel’s “Pawn Stars” as a loosely-scripted, educational, entertaining situation comedy.

Same for “Storage Wars,” more or less, although some of Hester’s claims do put the show into a realm of charade beyond what you might suspect. Hester says entire units are sometimes staged — along with the supposed “auctions.”

Fans of the show might also appreciate this:

Hester alleges that the producers provide cash to some bidders, but not others, “in order to give the weaker cast members an advantage over the more experienced and successful bidders such as Hester.”

Makes sense.

Absent some manipulation, they’d probably have to rename the show, “The Endless Triumphs of Dave Hester.”